Time to make that Christmas pudding...

Amazingly it's Christmas pudding time again. It's galloped up on me very suddenly because I was away for so long. But it looks as if I'll have a goodly gathering of friends this year, for the first proper Christmas dinner here since Harvey died, and I want everything to be as it should. (I did make a pudding last year too, but that was to take to my sister's in Auckland.)
             So today I hunted through the pantry for the ingredients and filled in the gaps with a quick trip to the brilliantly well stocked dairy over the road (I didn't need much, I like going there, and it was much quicker than walking or even driving to the supermarket). I made a daring decision to replace half the raisins with "craisins", dried cranberries, just for a change. Now it's all mixed and sitting in its bowl to stand overnight, ready for steaming tomorrow.

           The pudding featured in the terrific review by Susette Goldsmith in the Listener on 26 October, so I have to quote it: 

"Sandwiched between are tales from Auckland, Albania, London, New Caledonia, France and Wellington, as rich and complex as her Christmas pudding (one of 24 chapter-related recipes included)."

You can also find the recipe on my blog here.

I know I have posted much on here lately - it's taken me a while to get back into the swing of cooking. But next week I'll write about one of the nicest dishes I ate in France, the celebrated salade Lyonnaise.